Bhagavatapurana 3.29: athaikonatriṃśo'dhyāyaḥ

3.29.1

/0 devahūtir uvāca
lakṣaṇaṃ mahad-ādīnāṃ prakṛteḥ puruṣasya ca /
svarūpaṃ lakṣyate 'mīṣāṃ yena tat-pāramārthikam //

Devahūti said:
The characteristics of the Mahat and the rest, of nature and of the person,
by which their ultimate true nature is characterized—

1 & 2. The description of the Mahat Tattva and other principles of Prakriti and Purusha has been given as known to the Sankhyas—the description by which their true and distinct nature is perceived and which is said to be the source of the Bhakti-yoga; be pleased to describe to me that Bhakti-yoga in detail, O Lord.

3.29.2

yathā sāṅkhyeṣu kathitaṃ yan-mūlaṃ tat pracakṣate /
bhakti-yogasya me mārgaṃ brūhi vistaraśaḥ prabho //

as it has been declared in the Sāṅkhya teachings, that which they declare to be the root—
tell me, O Lord, in detail the path of the yoga of devotion.

3.29.3

virāgo yena puruṣo bhagavan sarvato bhavet /
ācakṣva jīva-lokasya vividhā mama saṃsṛtīḥ //

Tell me of the diverse transmigrations of the world of living beings, O Lord,
by which a person may become dispassionate toward everything;

3. Be pleased to tell me of the various courses of Samsara, so that, O glorious one, a person may get free from all attachments to and longing for all the things of the world.

3.29.4

kālasyeśvara-rūpasya pareṣāṃ ca parasya te /
svarūpaṃ bata kurvanti yad-dhetoḥ kuśalaṃ janāḥ //

and of the true nature of time, which is the form of the Lord, and of you who are higher than the highest,
because of which, alas, people perform righteous deeds.

4. Also tell me of the nature of Kala or Time which is only another form of Isvara, who is higher than all others that

are thought to be great—of Kala fearing whom people do what is good.

3.29.5

lokasya mithyābhimater acakṣuṣaś ciraṃ prasuptasya tamasy anāśraye /
śrāntasya karmasv anuviddhayā dhiyā tvam āvirāsīḥ kila yoga-bhāskaraḥ //

For the world lacking sight through false self-conceit, long asleep in shelterless darkness,
and exhausted in rituals with a mind deeply absorbed, you have indeed appeared as the sun of yoga.

5. Truly for the sake of the world full of false pride, destitute of eyes (the light of wisdom), long drowned in the sleep of bottomless ignorance, and wearied on account of the mind's being caught in the meshes of Karma, Thou hast manifested Thyself in the world as the sun throwing light upon yoga (the course of meditation leading to release or Moksha).

3.29.6

/0 maitreya uvāca
iti mātur vacaḥ ślakṣṇaṃ pratinandya mahā-muniḥ /
ābabhāṣe kuru-śreṣṭha prītas tāṃ karuṇārditaḥ //

Maitreya said:
Welcoming with joy this gentle speech of his mother, the great sage,
pleased and moved by compassion, spoke to her, O best of the Kurus.

6. Maitreya said:—The great sage heard with approbation these agreeable words (this enquiry) of his mother and urged by His own mercifulness, O foremost one among the Kurus, spoke to her as follows:

3.29.7

/0 śrī-bhagavān uvāca
bhakti-yogo bahu-vidho mārgair bhāmini bhāvyate /
svabhāva-guṇa-mārgeṇa puṃsāṃ bhāvo vibhidyate //

The Lord said:
The yoga of devotion is conceived in many forms through various paths, O noble lady;
the devotional disposition of human beings differs according to the path of their inherent qualities.

7. Bhakti-yoga i.e. the path of Devotion is, O wise mother, seen to be of many branches on account of several peculiarities; for the minds or the ideas of men greatly vary according as their natural dispositions and qualities differ.

3.29.8

abhisandhāya yo hiṃsāṃ dambhaṃ mātsaryam eva vā /
saṃrambhī bhinna-dṛg bhāvaṃ mayi kuryāt sa tāmasaḥ //

He who, having in mind violence, hypocrisy, or malice,
wrathful and seeing difference, directs his devotional feeling toward me, is of the quality of darkness.

8. He who practises devotion towards Me with the thought of doing evil to others or with feelings of pride and jealousy or under the force of anger or with notions of difference—he is of the Tamasa class.

3.29.9

viṣayān abhisandhāya yaśa aiśvaryam eva vā /
arcādāv arcayed yo māṃ pṛthag-bhāvaḥ sa rājasaḥ //

He who, having in mind sense pleasures, fame, or sovereignty,
worships me in an image and the like, holding a view of difference, is of the quality of passion.

9. He who, desirous of worldly objects, reputation or lordly power, worships Me in idols and other things and with the notion of difference,—he is of the Rajasa class.

3.29.10

karma-nirhāram uddiśya parasmin vā tad-arpaṇam /
yajed yaṣṭavyam iti vā pṛthag-bhāvaḥ sa sāttvikaḥ //

He who, aiming at the destruction of karma or offering it to the Supreme,
worships, thinking 'it ought to be performed,' yet holding a view of difference, is of the quality of purity.

6. He who is desirous of getting rid of all his Karma or of offering his actions in worship to the Supreme Lord or with the idea that it is his duty, worships Me with the notion of difference—he is of the Satvika Class.

3.29.11

mad-guṇa-śruti-mātreṇa mayi sarva-guhāśaye /
mano-gatir avicchinnā yathā gaṅgāmbhaso 'mbudhau //

Merely by hearing of my divine qualities, the movement of the mind
toward me, who dwell in the secret chamber of all, becomes uninterrupted like the water of the Gaṅgā toward the ocean.

11—12. The disinterested and immediate devotion to Me, the Purushottama, abiding in the hearts of all, which takes the form of the mind’s uninterrupted thought (of Myself) flowing towards Me like the waters of the Ganga towards the sea, at the very moment when My excellent attributes, are heard,—that devotion is, it is said, the characteristic of the Bhakti-yoga which is said to be Nirguna. [Note:—The Bhakti spoken of in the verses 8 to 10 is said to be Saguna Bhakti yoga having 81 varieties.]

3.29.12

lakṣaṇaṃ bhakti-yogasya nirguṇasya hy udāhṛtam /
ahaituky avyavahitā yā bhaktiḥ puruṣottame //

This is described as the characteristic of the yoga of devotion beyond the qualities:
that devotion toward the Supreme Person which is motiveless and uninterrupted.

3.29.13

sālokya-sārṣṭi-sāmīpya- sārūpyaikatvam apy uta /
dīyamānaṃ na gṛhṇanti vinā mat-sevanaṃ janāḥ //

Residence in my realm, equal powers, proximity,
similarity of form, or even oneness—even when offered, people do not accept without service to me.

13. Souls endowed with true Bhakti do not accept, though offered by Myself, the four kinds of heavenly state viz of dwelling in the same region with Me, of possessing wealth equal to Mine own, of being in My presence or of having the same form as Myself or unification with Me; but they would accept only the (blissful) duty of worshipping Me.

3.29.14

sa eva bhakti-yogākhya ātyantika udāhṛtaḥ /
yenātivrajya tri-guṇaṃ mad-bhāvāyopapadyate //

That alone is declared to be the ultimate yoga of devotion,
by which, having transcended the three qualities, one attains to my nature.

14. That alone is said to be the unfailing and final Bhakti yoga by which the soul is able to get out of the Samsara brought about by the three gunas and (thereby) becomes fit for attaining to My state.

3.29.15

niṣevitenānimittena sva-dharmeṇa mahīyasā /
kriyā-yogena śastena nātihiṃsreṇa nityaśaḥ //

Through one's own exalted dharma constantly practiced without selfish motive,
through praiseworthy action-yoga that is not excessively violent,

15. By the daily observance of his religious duties with great attention and care and with faith and disinterested devotion by methodical religious acts (as laid down in the Pancharatra and other Sastras) actuated by no desire and involving no trouble to other beings.

3.29.16

mad-dhiṣṇya-darśana-sparśa- pūjā-stuty-abhivandanaiḥ /
bhūteṣu mad-bhāvanayā sattvenāsaṅgamena ca //

through seeing, touching, worshipping, praising, and bowing before my abode [and image],
through the contemplation of me in all beings, through purity, and through non-attachment,

16. By beholding My holy shrines and images, by touching, worshipping, praising and bowing to them, by thinking of Me (as present) in all beings, by fortitude and renunciation.

3.29.17

mahatāṃ bahu-mānena dīnānām anukampayā /
maitryā caivātma-tulyeṣu yamena niyamena ca //

through high respect for exalted devotees, through compassion for the wretched,
through friendship toward one's equals, through self-restraint and observances,

17. By honouring the great, by showing compassion to the distressed, by friendly feeling towards those who are equal to him and by yama and Niyama;

3.29.18

ādhyātmikānuśravaṇān nāma-saṅkīrtanāc ca me /
ārjavenārya-saṅgena nirahaṅkriyayā tathā //

through listening to spiritual teachings, through the chanting of my name,
through straightforwardness, through association with noble people, and likewise through egolessness,

18. By listening to discourses in philosophy (about Atman) by singing My names, by straightforwardness, by association with the worthy and venerable, by the absence of pride or Ahankara;

3.29.19

mad-dharmaṇo guṇair etaiḥ parisaṃśuddha āśayaḥ /
puruṣasyāñjasābhyeti śruta-mātra-guṇaṃ hi mām //

the heart of a person thoroughly purified by these qualities of my dharma
easily reaches me, whose qualities are heard simply by listening.

19. By these qualities the mind of the man bent upon doing his duties for My sake,—such duties as are intended to please Me, becomes thoroughly purified and resorts to Me the moment that My excellent qualities are heard.

3.29.20

yathā vāta-ratho ghrāṇam āvṛṅkte gandha āśayāt /
evaṃ yoga-rataṃ ceta ātmānam avikāri yat //

Just as a fragrance carried on the chariot of the wind seizes the sense of smell from its source,
so does the mind engaged in yoga reach the self, which is changeless.

20. Just as fragrance travelling from its source by the vehicle of the wind brings the organ of smell under its influence (takes possession of it), so also the mind constant in yoga and hence in an unperturbed state is capable of comprehending and realising the Atman.

3.29.21

ahaṃ sarveṣu bhūteṣu bhūtātmāvasthitaḥ sadā /
tam avajñāya māṃ martyaḥ kurute 'rcā-viḍambanam //

I am always present in all beings as the self of beings;
disregarding him, a mortal makes a mere mockery of worship in an image.

21. I am always present in all beings as the soul of them all; (but) the mortal neglects Me so present and makes a sham of worshipping idols.

3.29.22

yo māṃ sarveṣu bhūteṣu santam ātmānam īśvaram /
hitvārcāṃ bhajate mauḍhyād bhasmany eva juhoti saḥ //

One who disregards Me, the Lord and Self dwelling in all beings, / and worships an image out of foolishness, merely pours oblations into ashes.

22. He who foolishly neglects Me, the Supreme ruler, the Atman present in all beings, and worships an ideal, is really throwing his offerings into ashes.

3.29.23

dviṣataḥ para-kāye māṃ mānino bhinna-darśinaḥ /
bhūteṣu baddha-vairasya na manaḥ śāntim ṛcchati //

One who hates Me in another's body, proud and seeing difference, / harboring enmity toward living beings, never attains peace of mind.

23. Serenity (calm devotion) is not attained by the mind of that man who hates Me while present in the body of other beings, who is proud of his understanding (presumptuous) and looks upon Me with an eye of difference and cherishes hatred towards other beings.

3.29.24

aham uccāvacair dravyaiḥ kriyayotpannayānaghe /
naiva tuṣye 'rcito 'rcāyāṃ bhūta-grāmāvamāninaḥ //

Though worshipped in an image with diverse ritual offerings, O sinless woman, / I am not at all pleased with one who insults the multitude of beings.

24. O sinless mother, when worshipped through an idol by the rituals accompanied with various articles, I am not pleased with the worshipper who scorns other beings.

3.29.25

arcādāv arcayet tāvad īśvaraṃ māṃ sva-karma-kṛt /
yāvan na veda sva-hṛdi sarva-bhūteṣv avasthitam //

Performing one's own duty, one should worship Me, the Lord, in images and the like, / only so long as one does not recognize Me dwelling in one's own heart and in all beings.

25. Constant in the performance of his own duties, the devout should continue to worship Me the Lord of all abiding in all beings until he realises Me in his own heart.

3.29.26

ātmanaś ca parasyāpi yaḥ karoty antarodaram /
tasya bhinna-dṛśo mṛtyur vidadhe bhayam ulbaṇam //

Whoever makes the slightest distinction between oneself and another— / to that person of divided vision I, as death, bring formidable fear.

26. If a person makes out the least difference between himself and another (himself and Paramatman) I, who am Death, cause great fear to him who is full of notions of difference (I throw him into the terrible Samsara as long as he continues to have the notion of difference.)

3.29.27

atha māṃ sarva-bhūteṣu bhūtātmānaṃ kṛtālayam /
arhayed dāna-mānābhyāṃ maitryābhinnena cakṣuṣā //

Therefore, one should honor Me, the Self of beings who have made their abode in all beings, / with charity and respect, with friendliness, and with an undividing eye.

27. Therefore, with love and an equal eye, (eschewing the notion of difference), by making charitable gifts and by respectful acts, one should worship Me who abide in all beings as their inner ruler.

3.29.28

jīvāḥ śreṣṭhā hy ajīvānāṃ tataḥ prāṇa-bhṛtaḥ śubhe /
tataḥ sa-cittāḥ pravarās tataś cendriya-vṛttayaḥ //

Living beings are superior to non-living things, O auspicious one, / and superior to them are those that breathe; superior to them are those possessing a mind, and superior still are those with active senses.

28. The Jivas (i.e. living beings) are superior to those that are lifeless; O blessed mother, those that are endowed with Prana (i.e. in whom the function of vital breaths is found) are superior to mere living things; still higher are those that are endowed with Chitta or sensibility; superior to these are those in whom the functions of organs are found;

3.29.29

tatrāpi sparśa-vedibhyaḥ pravarā rasa-vedinaḥ /
tebhyo gandha-vidaḥ śreṣṭhās tataḥ śabda-vido varāḥ //

Even among them, those who perceive taste are superior to those who only perceive touch; / superior to them are those who perceive smell, and better still are those who perceive sound.

29. And among these last those that are endowed with the sense of taste are superior to those that have only the sense of touch; the next higher beings are those that have the sense of smell also, and superior to them are those that can perceive sound;

3.29.30

rūpa-bheda-vidas tatra tataś cobhayato-dataḥ /
teṣāṃ bahu-padāḥ śreṣṭhāś catuṣ-pādas tato dvi-pāt //

Superior to them are those who discern differences in form, and next those with teeth in both jaws; / among them the many-legged are superior, then the four-footed, and then the two-legged.

30. And superior to these again are those that perceive colour; and those that have teeth on both sides belong to the

still higher class; of these last those that have many feet are superior to those that have no feet; the four-footed are superior to the many-footed and to all these the bi-footed (bipeds) are superior;

3.29.31

tato varṇāś ca catvāras teṣāṃ brāhmaṇa uttamaḥ /
brāhmaṇeṣv api veda-jño hy artha-jño 'bhyadhikas tataḥ //

Next are the four classes, and among them the brāhmaṇa is best; / even among brāhmaṇas, the knower of the Veda is superior, and higher still is the knower of its meaning.

31. Among the bipeds the four castes take a high place and among these the Brahmana has the highest; and among Brahmanas he who knows the Vedas ranks higher than others and still higher does he who understands their meaning;

3.29.32

artha-jñāt saṃśaya-cchettā tataḥ śreyān sva-karma-kṛt /
mukta-saṅgas tato bhūyān adogdhā dharmam ātmanaḥ //

Better than the knower of the meaning is the resolver of doubts; better than him is the performer of his duty; / greater than him is the unattached person who does not milk his dharma [for personal gain].

32. Superior to one that understands the meaning is he who is able to clear doubts and to him is superior he who also does his own duties; far superior to this is he who has no attachments or desires and so does not seek after the fruit (consequences of his righteous duties);

3.29.33

tasmān mayy arpitāśeṣa- kriyārthātmā nirantaraḥ /
mayy arpitātmanaḥ puṃso mayi sannyasta-karmaṇaḥ /
na paśyāmi paraṃ bhūtam akartuḥ sama-darśanāt //

Superior to him is one whose actions, purpose, and self are wholly offered unto Me without interruption; / I see no being superior to that person who has offered his self to Me, whose actions are renounced in Me, / who is free from doership, because of his equal vision.

33. And superior to this last mentioned is he who offers unto Me all his activities, their consequences and his body and thus sees nothing between himself and Paramatman; and I do not see any one higher than that person who has resigned his body and self unto Me, who has abandoned all Karma and become actionless, holding every thing with equal regard (and destitute of the wrong notion of his being an active agent and of the consequent attachment to action).

3.29.34

manasaitāni bhūtāni praṇamed bahu-mānayan /
īśvaro jīva-kalayā praviṣṭo bhagavān iti //

One should bow mentally to these beings, showing them great respect, / thinking: 'The Lord, the Bhagavān, has entered them through a fraction of Himself as the living soul.'

34. He should mentally bow to all beings holding them with high regard with the understanding that the glorious supreme Ruler has entered into jivas as their Antaryamin.

3.29.35

bhakti-yogaś ca yogaś ca mayā mānavy udīritaḥ /
yayor ekatareṇaiva puruṣaḥ puruṣaṃ vrajet //

The yoga of devotion and the yoga [of meditation] have both been expounded by Me, O daughter of Manu, / by either one of which a person may attain the Supreme Person.

35. O daughter of Manu, the Bhakti-Yoga and Yoga in general have been expounded by Me; and by any one of them, the jiva may attain unto the Perfect Person, the Paramatman.

3.29.36

etad bhagavato rūpaṃ brahmaṇaḥ paramātmanaḥ /
paraṃ pradhānaṃ puruṣaṃ daivaṃ karma-viceṣṭitam //

This form of the Lord, of Brahman, of the Supreme Self, / is the supreme primal matter, the Person, divine destiny, and the movements of action.

36. This supreme ruling form of the glorious Lord who is Brahman, the Paramatman, is both Prakriti and Purusha and also different from both; it is also called Daiva, i.e., Providence or invisible power under the force of which all activity in the form of samsara is brought about as the sport of Karma.

3.29.37

rūpa-bhedāspadaṃ divyaṃ kāla ity abhidhīyate /
bhūtānāṃ mahad-ādīnāṃ yato bhinna-dṛśāṃ bhayam //

The divine source of different forms is designated as time, / from which arises fear for beings, beginning with the Mahat, who see difference.

37. Again the Lord is called Kala or Time with reference to His wonderful form which becomes the source of all difference, the appearance of things; and from which arises fear, the fear of samsara, to the jivas presiding over the Mahat and other principles while having the notion of difference.

3.29.38

yo 'ntaḥ praviśya bhūtāni bhūtair atty akhilāśrayaḥ /
sa viṣṇv-ākhyo 'dhiyajño 'sau kālaḥ kalayatāṃ prabhuḥ //

Entering inside all beings, He consumes beings through beings, the support of all; / named Viṣṇu, He is the presiding deity of sacrifice, time, the master of all who calculate [its passage].

38—39. He who enters into all beings, becomes the support of them all and devours (destroys) them by means of the same things—He is the Lord well-known as Vishnu, the Lord of sacrifices, who bestows the fruits on the sacrificer and who is Time which rules all other ruling powers; there is none beloved of Him, none hated of Him, and none who are His kindred; He is ever watchful and enters into the careless as the Destroyer.

3.29.39

na cāsya kaścid dayito na dveṣyo na ca bāndhavaḥ /
āviśaty apramatto 'sau pramattaṃ janam anta-kṛt //

To Him no one is dear, none is hateful, and none is a relative; / watchful, this bringer of the end enters the unwatchful person.

3.29.40

yad-bhayād vāti vāto 'yaṃ sūryas tapati yad-bhayāt /
yad-bhayād varṣate devo bha-gaṇo bhāti yad-bhayāt //

From fear of Him this wind blows, from fear of Him the sun gives heat, / from fear of Him the rain god pours down, and from fear of Him the host of stars shines.

40. For fear of Him the wind blows, for fear of Him the sun shines, for fear of Him the god of rain sends down showers and for fear of Him the host of heavenly bodies shines.

3.29.41

yad vanaspatayo bhītā latāś cauṣadhibhiḥ saha /
sve sve kāle 'bhigṛhṇanti puṣpāṇi ca phalāni ca //

From fear of Him the trees of the forest, the creepers, along with medicinal herbs, / each in their own proper season, bear flowers and fruits.

41. Afraid of Him, trees, creepers, plants and herbs, put forth blossoms and bear fruits in their due seasons;

3.29.42

sravanti sarito bhītā notsarpaty udadhir yataḥ /
agnir indhe sa-giribhir bhūr na majjati yad-bhayāt //

In fear rivers flow, and the ocean does not overflow its bounds; / fire blazes, and the earth with its mountains does not sink [into the waters] out of fear of Him.

42. Afraid of Him rivers flow and the sea does not overflow; afraid of Him the fire burns and the earth does not sink with the burden of mountains.

3.29.43

nabho dadāti śvasatāṃ padaṃ yan-niyamād adaḥ /
lokaṃ sva-dehaṃ tanute mahān saptabhir āvṛtam //

The sky provides space for living beings under His governance; / the Mahat expands this cosmos, His body, enveloped by the seven [elements].

43. By His command the sky affords room for breathing-creatures and the Mahat Tattva expands its own body into the world enclosed in seven sheaths;

3.29.44

guṇābhimānino devāḥ sargādiṣv asya yad-bhayāt /
vartante 'nuyugaṃ yeṣāṃ vaśa etac carācaram //

Out of fear of Him, the gods presiding over the qualities of nature remain engaged in creation and the rest age after age, / under whose control is all this moving and unmoving world.

44. For fear of Him Brahmā and other gods who preside over the three gunas and in whose power lies all this world of mobile and immobile creatures, are engaged in their work of creating or preserving in every age (yuga);

3.29.45

so 'nanto 'nta-karaḥ kālo 'nādir ādi-kṛd avyayaḥ /
janaṃ janena janayan mārayan mṛtyunāntakam //

He is endless, the bringer of the end, time without beginning, the originator, imperishable, / generating creature through creature, and destroying even the god of death through death.

45. He has no end, but He brings about the end of all; He is Kala without a beginning, but He is the beginning of all; He is changeless, He causes (every) creature to be born of parents and brings about the end of the Antaka (the Destroyer) by means of death.